the best technique

J

JonB

New member
I have been thinking about getting a second radar detector. I already have the Escort 8500 and it works great. I was going to buy the Valentine One to test it out, but I have two issues with it:



1.. I have metallic tint on the rear windshield which according to V1 tech support will totally eliminate rear laser detection (no biggie since that is a rare event) but will "distort" rear radar detection as well, i.e. significantly diminish the distance of detection.



2.. The Escort has an Auto setting which automatically mutes signals after a few seconds. The lighted display continues to monitor the threat but I don't have to listen to that annoying beeping sound very long, especially when it is a false alert. The V 1 does not have this feature. You actually have to press the mute button to mute the sound. Their automute is really a filter which waits until the signal is strong enough to even give an alert. That amounts reducing its effectiveness altogether.



How can I justify spending the extra $100 for the V1 when the very features that are supposed to make it superior to the Escort actually compromise its use....?



H
 
I dunno....



If you have the spare cash then what the heck???



Your rear tint will effect any radar detector.



The mute button is not that bad....I actually prefer it but thats me.



Good Luck!!
 
But the directional arrows won't work if you have metallic tinted windows. I can usually get a pretty good idea of which way the radar source is coming from by the pattern of the alert. I guess if I didn't have the windows tinted I would be more inclined to give the V1 a shot.



H
 
It will still work Big but the sensitivity will be reduced a bit and since the rear window is so far away and large it might not have that big of an effect.



Oh buy one and if you do not like it I will take it off your hands for a reduced price:D
 
My BMW has metallic tint on its windows - no problem for my V1...and as for the mute - I like pressing the button because it forces me to acknowledge the signal. On my older Passport, when it would auto mute there were many times that I'd forget it was going off, and then I'd see a cop a little bit down the road.



Plus, you can adjust the mute volume on your V1 which is very handy (and easy - dual ring knob).



Example of V1's ability:



I was driving to Dallas to pick up our newest dog, and this guy in an Infinity Q45 (the new ones look like d@mn Hyundai's) goes roaring past me. He has a radar detector (I could see the green light), and I had my V1. Whenever I get a signal, I check my odometer (speed and mileage), because I like to see how sensitive my V1 is (even after 4 years and 1 update).



So, we're driving - he's up in front of me a bit, and my detector starts going off. Mileage was xxx4.2 (I just look at the last 2 #'s). I put on my brakes, slow from about 85 to 70 (speed limit is 65) and cruise along. Signal is sporadic - like there's an instant on cop up ahead, using KA. It's getting stronger and more consistent - xxx5.3, 5.6, 5.8, 6.0, 6.2 and there he is, just on the backside of a little crest in the road. The Inifinity guy hit his brakes at around 5.8 (I was waiting for him to get caught), and lowe and behold, he get's pulled over.



So, I stop for gas about 100 miles later, and who pulls into the station but the Q45 guy. He gets out and starts pumping gas right across from me. He's complaining to his buddy about the ticket, and I said - "I saw you go past me, didn't your detector catch the signal?" He says, "I heard it, and next thing I knew I was pulled over!" I said, "What detector do you have?" He says, "It's a brand new Passport." I said, "Probably need a V1!" He said, "No doubt- I'm sending this piece of sh*t back!"



Luckily, he was a good sport, but still...my v1 has saved me everytime since I bought it in 1997...
 
Just to be fair, the older Passport was not as sensitive as the newer 8500. I have been picking up the instant on traps over a mile down the road which is plenty of time to respond. Most of the highway patrol guys do not use instant on and are easier to track. It's around town that the motorcycle cops use the instant on guns. Less time to react, but given the lower speed and excellent distance of pickup, the Escort has proven itself as extremely effective. 99% of the radar traps are located ahead of traffic flow, so rear detection is almost a non-issue and Escort will pick them up also (maybe not as soon as the V1).



I am going to give the V1 a shot to see if the directional arrows make any difference. They have a 30 day money back policy so I can always send it back and get another Escort. I'm going to get the remote unit so it will be easier to reach over to mute. I am just concerned about the false alarms around town that will make it very annoying. I do most of my driving local... The auto mute on the Escort is excellent for city driving, since it still has full sensitivity going, but will drop the sound down after a few seconds. With the V1 I will have to hit mute or listen to the chirping until I am past the source. I won't ever use city mode, because especially with the V1, the sensitivity to instant on Ka is reduced to an ineffective level according to Car and Driver.



I was also reading about the new "Pop" radar guns that can't be detected by ANY radar detectors. V1 says they are not accurate, but then they show that they are within 1 or 2 mph of the actual speed. Thats sounds accurate enough to get a ticket since they usually only ticket you if your speed is at least 5 to 10 mph over the limit depending on city or highway.... Ouch! :sosad



H
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by bigboyhf [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>I won't ever use city mode, because especially with the V1, the sensitivity to instant on Ka is reduced to an ineffective level according to Car and Driver.
[/b]</blockquote>
Afraid that you'll be very upset with the V1 in "All Bogey" mode when driving around the city. I always set mine to "Full Logic" when in a busy city and then reset it to "All" for highway driving. Again, I don't like to drive slow - and this method has kept me ticket free since 1997.
 
I leave my V1 on highway all the time....I just hit mute...it is not that big a deal to me since it is not that far away...Plus I kinda like the brapppppppppp sound.



I notice I can upgrade to the new one but I am now deciding on buying new one and handing the old one off to the GF....????
 
First off the V1 is the only detector to even have a rear facing antenna. I use one with a steel louvered headache rack behind the rear window and it still works. Heck even with a large enclosed trailer behind me it still works just not as good. The V1 is very well thought out and it gives me the info I need and use on a daily basis. Perhaps it takes some a few flight hours to really get used to the arrows, different beeps and bogey counter but after the break in time you learn how to read what it is telling you. They even use a slimmer case on the new V1s. :xyxthumbs
 
Ok.... I received my V1 today and gave it a spin. Here are my initial thoughts:



The detector doesn't seem to slide out of the windshield mount, so removing it from sight means I have to unstick the suction cups instead of the quick release on the Escort.



I set it to Logic mode and took a drive through familiar territory (ie Escort tested). I had arrows and bogeys counting all over the place. Arrows pointing in every direction at once! It barely stopped beeping and brapping the entire 5 mile run. Now that is truly information overload. I guess I will have to try the full logic mode, but this makes the instant on Ka about half as sensitive as the Escort.



I drove to my destination during daylight and I was able to see the band designation ok, but returning at night, all I could see was a red dot next to one of the band designators. The Escort has a large lighted display for the band. Even though the sound is slightly different, it's nice to know especially in a Ka alert. I had no idea what band I was getting because of all the multiple bogey false alerts!



I got the remote display, but if I put it on my center console for easy reach to the mute button, I have to look down to see it and take my eye off of the road....that is definitely going back.



I have to take it out on the highway, but so far I am not at all impressed. Information overload. I started to ignore it after a mile or two which is way worse than the auto mute on the Escort which I keep better track of, especially with K and Ka alerts!



The Escort has about 1/10th the number of false alarms, at least driving around town here. I am inclined to think that the minor difference in sensitivity is worth all that noise. The arrows were virtually worthless in "city" (really suburbia) driving. Maybe on the road it might prove to be more handy, however, I can almost always tell where a radar source in with the Escort by pattern recognition. That is something that even Valentine recommends learning despite having the arrows. That seems a bit redundant to me.....



Ok. These are my initial thoughts. I have a couple of weeks to test this out more fully before I decide to keep it or not. Any comments or suggestions to better use would be appreciated.



H :confused: :nixweiss
 
Try a little 303 on the windshield mount to help lube it up. IT is sticky when brand new but mine slides out easy now.



HTH
 
Took a spin on full logic mode. A definite improvement in false alarms. Had an interesting experience when passing thru a known X band false alarm spot. There was a motorcycle cop with and X band radar which is very unusual.....have not seen X band being used as police radar around here before! Luckily (for me) he had someone pulled over already. Now I know not to ignore all of those as being falses.



H
 
Keep us updated on your experience with the V1. I am curious.



I have noticed around here there are door openers on the K band.
 
I have seen a few K band door openers as well. It's usually fairly obvious and in an area with offices or strip centers where I wouldn't be speeding anyways. When I see K and especially Ka, I take immediate notice as they are almost always police radar.



I'm a little concerned about full logic mode on the V1 because the Car and Driver report says that it performed less than the Escort with instant on Ka, which is the predominant radar usage around here. The question is whether it is still adequate because I found the Escort to be way more than adequate notice of instant on Ka.



H
 
I dunno as I just leave my V1 in the "A" mode. I do not mind door openers setting it off as I can quickly distinguish between doors and cops after a few drives through the same area by checking the bogey counter and arrows.



My driving is mainly interstate anyways and then into strange towns so I would rather be safe.



But I can understand how the noise bugs people after a while.



Good Luck!!
 
Just wanted to add my .02



I've had my V1 now for about 3 years. (knocking like mad on wood) It has a perfect record. It has over 75k miles logged. Still works like the day I pulled it from the box.

I have metalic tint (32%) on my rear windows and don't seem to have a prob. One thing that I very much enjoy is the knob type volume control. With my last detector (Bell) you had to press and hold a button for volume!!! errr!!



The noise is something that you learn. I've been able to tell when x band is a cop and when it's not. For some it does get anoying.... just ask my gf. She hates this thing. But only when she is a riding shotgun. When driving she loves it. Just turns it down or mutes it when it goes off.



So here we are.... me and my V1.

It still to this day makes me smile.

SW
 
just ordered a boars hair brush and extension pole to wash my new high top conversion van. are there any special technique i should use to keep from producing swirls and rids...
 
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